Here's a a roundup of recent stories that chronicle the experiences of women under the health care rationing regimes in Canada, Ireland and the UK:
Canada: Breast cancer patient has surgery, sent home same day:
At 8 a.m. on Dec. 19, Sharon Abbott's left breast was removed at Dartmouth General Hospital. By 3 p.m., she had been sent home.
[...]
"(There) wasn't any ifs, ands or buts, I had the operation and they didn't have a bed, so therefore I had to go home," she said.
Before her surgery, a nurse taught Ms. Abbott how to drain her incision.
Doctors then removed her left breast, several lymph nodes and some muscle tissue.
Ireland: Women opting for radical surgery left without beds
Women who have opted to have their ovaries and womb removed in an effort to prevent ovarian and breast cancer have been left waiting for a bed, according to a leading consultant oncologist.
Prof Peter Daly, consultant medical oncologist at St James's Hospital, Dublin said he has had "the unhappy situation" where a woman has had to come to terms with the prospect of surgery and make arrangements, only to be told that there is no bed for her when she arrives for surgery.
UK: Heartfelt letter that will shame Welsh NHS
A WELSH businesswoman has chronicled the "inhumane" delays in treatment for breast cancer patients she witnessed at first hand.
In a blunt letter to a Welsh NHS Trust, she reveals how patients must first ring to see if a bed is available on their day of treatment, and are frequently left waiting for hours even when they are admitted.
Mother-of-three Angela Lloyd says her experiences show how a difficult situation is made even more traumatic by the lack of available beds.
In a letter sent to Hugh Ross, chief executive of the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust, Mrs Lloyd outlines the delays she and other patients waiting to undergo breast cancer surgery at Llandough Hospital, Cardiff, experienced.
Mrs Lloyd, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in October, described how she rang on the day she was due to be admitted for a mastectomy, but was told there were no available beds.
UK: Cancer patient's anger at delay
A mother of three claims she suffered inhumane delays for treatment after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Angela Lloyd said patients were forced to ring to see if a bed was available and were left waiting for hours after being admitted.
Mrs Lloyd, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last October, was booked in for treatment at Llandough Hospital, near Cardiff, the following month.
But on the day of her treatment Mrs Lloyd said she rang the hospital only to be told there were no beds.
After further phone calls that day she was called to the hospital only to wait for five hours before being given a bed.
19 Feb 2007 @ 7:08am